Another drone incident at Heathrow just a wingspan away from the landing aircraft has once again reminded the UK's aviation industry that people just can't be trusted. The problem in question affected an Airbus 319 which can carry as many as 180 passengers.

The drone was reported by the pilot as being less than 30m away from his plane and that he had absolutely no way of evading it. While the plane didn't strike the drone, it's really only luck at this point. Would a drone down a plane if they collided? Perhaps not, but the chance simply isn't worth taking.

A further incident took place with a smaller passenger aircraft at Manchester, in which the pilot reported a drone a meer 15m away from his prop-powered aeroplane.

As you can imagine, pilots are pretty cross about all this and justifiably so. some are calling for a register of drone users and some want more action taken. The problem is, drones can be abandoned and might not have enough information on them to indicate their owner. While expensive, abandoning a drone you've just nearly used to bring down an aircraft is a lot better than jail.

All of this is a great shame, because it reflects so poorly on all drone owners. Many wouldn't dream of going near an airport, and some drones even internally prohibit their owners from taking them in restricted airspace. But no matter what, people have to understand that such behaviour simply isn't acceptable.

Source: The Guardian